A variety of vehicle connections, such as hitch-and-coupler assemblies, for coupling a trailer vehicle to a towing vehicle are known. One type of hitch-and-coupler assembly that is employed for coupling a trailer vehicle to a towing vehicle includes link members arranged to form a train of links that permits universal movement of the trailer vehicle relative to the towing vehicle when coupled to each other.
In one type of hitch-and-coupler assembly, three link members may be linked to each other with hinge-type joints so that adjacent link members may hinge relative to each other. Moreover, these hinge-type joints may be arranged with their hinge axes extending orthogonally relative to each other. This facilitates pivoting about a horizontal pitch axis transverse to the line of draft, about a vertical yaw axis transverse to the line of draft, and swiveling about a longitudinal roll axis along the line of draft. The combination of these pivoting movements when viewed together allows for universal movement of the trailer vehicle and the towing vehicle relative to each other.
For coupling and decoupling the trailer vehicle to the towing vehicle, the Applicant is aware of hitch-and-coupler type assemblies including hinge-type joints in which coupling is effected at a hinge that pivots about a yaw axis. This means that the link member forming part of the coupler assembly of the trailer vehicle has to be aligned with the link member forming part of the hitch assembly, by maneuvering the front end of the trailer vehicle by pushing or pulling and tilting the trailer vehicle.
In particular in cross-country applications, users may find it difficult manually to maneuver the trailer vehicle relative to the towing vehicle for aligning holes of the link members for passing a hinge pin there through. This is especially so in circumstances when the trailer vehicle and the towing vehicle are supported on an uneven rough cross-country terrain, and the link members are to be aligned by translational movement of the towing vehicle or the trailer vehicle. It is difficult to effect fine tolerance alignment of link members by gross movements of a vehicle.
The manual maneuverability of the trailer vehicle may further be impaired by its weight, size, and the like.
Clearly it would advantageous if a contrivance could be devised that alleviates at least part of the difficulties a user may encounter when coupling a trailer vehicle to a towing vehicle under such circumstances.